Grain-door.



O. J. MILLER.

GRAIN DOOR.

1,153,509 APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20. I914. Patentedsept. 14:,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES Q 017/70]; INVENTOR ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH CO.,WASHINGTON. b. c.

0 J. MILLER.

GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20. I914. 1,153,509. PatentedSept. 14, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES 5 ATTORNEY na rare.

ORIN J. MILLER, 01? HURDSFIELID, NORTH.DAKOTA.

GRAIN-DOOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, ORIN J. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hurd'sfield, in the county of Wells and State of North Dakota, have invented a new and useful Grain-Door, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in grain doors.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of grain doors, and to provide a simple inexpensive grain door of strong and durable construction, designed for use on box cars and adapted to be employed for hauling grain and various other kinds of material in bulk, and capable of providing a tight connection and of preventing leakage of the contents of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grain door having separate sections designed to be used conjointly or independently and adapted to be raised one at a time by hand without the use of operating mechanism and secured out of the way at the top of the car. I

Nith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. 1

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner face of a grain door, constructed in accordance with this invention, and shown applied to a car, the latter being in section. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same, the door sections being folded against thetop of the car. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 41 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, illustrating the manner of supporting the hinged edges of the sections at the top of the car. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the upper portion of one of the guides. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one end of the,

connecting and pintle rod of the upper door section. Fig. 8 is a detail view of one end of. the connecting and pintle rod of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1a, 1915.

Application filed January 20, 1914. Serial No. 813,239.

lower door section. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the slidable auxiliary door.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the grain car door, which may be constructed of any suitable material, either wood or metal, or a combination of both, is composed of separate interlocked upper and lower sections 1 and 2, provided at their upper edges with horizontal pintle and connecting rods 3 and 4, extending through alined eyes 5 and 6 of metallic cleats 7 and 8. The upper door section 1 is adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the lower section 2, and it is provided at its lower edge with a metallic strip 9, secured to the inner face of the upper door section 1 and projecting below the lower edge thereof and overlapping the joint formed by the upper and lower sections to provide a tight joint or connection to prevent leakage of the grain or other material at that point. The metallic strip 9 also extends between the horizontal rod 4 and the lower door section to interlock the adjacent edges of the door sections to prevent the upper door from swinging inwardly. The cleats 7 of the upper door section 1 are located at the center and ends of the said door section, and the cleats 8 of the lower door section are located. at the ends of such section and at points at opposite sides of the center of the same to provide an intervening space for an auxiliary door opening 10, but any other desired number of cleats may be employed for bracing and reinforcing the upper and lower door sections. The intermediate cleats of the lower door section are provided with depending lugs or extensions 11 engaging sockets 12 in the sill or floor of the car and interlocking the bottom portion of the lower section with the car, whereby the lower section is held against inward movement.

The ends of the horizontal connecting and pintle rods 3 and 4 are extended and bent into hooks 18 and 14, which engage around vertical guides 15, located at opposite sides from the door opening to form ways, and

permit the upper and lower sections of the grain door to fit against the same and he tween the said guides, as clearly illustrated in Fig. i of the drawings. The guides, which are constructed -of suitable metal, preferably consist of bars approximately U- shaped in cross section composed of inner and outer flanges and. a straight connecting portion, the outer flanges being suitably secured to the sides of the car. The inner flanges are arranged in spaced relation with the side of the car to form ways and the hooks which engage around the inner flanges extend into the ways and are slidable along the gulde bars. The hooks are interlocked with the vertical guides and enable the door sections to slide upwardly and downwardly thereon, and the rods also form pintles for enabling the door sections to swing upwardly and downwardly to carry the doorsections to a folded position beneath the top .of the car, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and to return them to a vertical operative position. The opposite guides are provided with extended upper extensions 17 having inclined lower portions and vertical upper portions, which are offset from the plane of the body portions of the guides by the said inclined portions ofthe extensions, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Theextensions 17 are also provided with top portions 18, having vertically disposed attaching terminals 19 and forming seats for the terminal portions of the horizontal rod 3 of the upper door section. The

attaching terminals 19 are suitably secured to the interior of the carnear the top of the door opening 16, and when the upper door section is moved upwardly on the guides when it is desired to arrange it out of the way, the terminals of the rod 3 are moved over and are arranged upon seats 18. The upper section is then swung upwardly and inwardly against the top of the car and is secured in such position by a pivoted gravity catch 20, consisting of a hook having a lower engaging portion or bill, arranged to extend beneath and engage the free edge of the upper door section, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. r

' The hooks 14 of the horizontal connecting and pintle rod 4 are set at an inclination and extend upwardly and outwardly with respect to the lower door section 2, and they are provided with depending engaging portions' or lugs 21, set approximately at an acute angle to the plane of the hooks 11 and adapted when the lower door section 2 is moved to the upper ends of the guides 15 and is swung inwardly and upwardly against the upper door section to be carried inwardly and caused to project through vertical slots 22 in the extensions 17 of the guides 15, whereby the upper or outer edge of the lower section is supported in an elevated position. "The lugs 21 are arranged normallyin substantially :1. vertical position "the upper door section is adapted to turn on the rod while the horizontal rod 4 of the lower section is rigidly secured in the eyes of the cleats 8 and rotates with the lower door section to cause a positive oscillatory movement of the lugs or engaging portions 21 to carry the latter into and out of the slots 22 of the vertical guides. The lugs or engaging portions 21 are slightly curved and present rounded or convex faces to the bottom walls of the slots to facilitate an easy swinging movement of the lower door section. 7 r a The lower doorsection 2 is held in an elevated position at the top of the car by a supporting device 23, constructed preferablysuitable bearing opening at-thetop of the car and the sides of the support are adapted to be readily swung into and outof engagement with the lugs 11 and they are'spaced apart to permitan independent operation of the gravity catch 20. The door by being constructed of two sections is easy for one man to handle even when constructed sufiiciently heavy to withstand the strains incident to the use of grain doors, and it is unnecessary to provide hoistingmechanism for raising and lowering the grain door. The door sections swing inwardly and when in their closed position fit against the door casing at the interior thereof and provide a tight closure. Also either one or both of the door sections may be used and when not in use, they are securely held in an elevated position out of the way. V

The lower door section is provided on its exterior at opposite sides of the auxiliary door opening'with vertical guides 27 receiving an auxiliary door 28.preferably constructed of metal and adapted when open to relieve the interior pressure in the usual manner. The auxiliary door is provided at erating lever is mounted on the lower sec-' tion of the door above the auxiliary door in suitable bearings 88, and it is adapted to be oscillated to raise and" lower the auxiliary door. In the accompanying drawings, the operating lever is shownconstructed of a single piece of rod metal bent and twisted to form the operating handle, which is provided with a terminal loop 39 to enable it to be easily grasped and operated. When the auxiliary door is closed, the lever and the link are located in the space between the sides of the door casing and do not interfere with the opening and closing of the ordinary car door (not shown).

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a car having a door opening, and guide bars located at opposite sides of the door opening and arranged in spaced relation with the side of the car to form'ways, said guide bars being provided at their upper portions with slots or openings, of a door provided at opposite sides with hooks engaging around the guide bars and extending into the said ways, said hooks being provided with lugs normally arranged in a substantially vertical position so as to slide in the ways and adapted to be carried through the slots or openings of the guide bars when the door is swung upwardly.

2. The combination with a car having a door opening, and guide bars located at opposite sides of the door opening and arranged in spaced relation with the side of the car to form ways, said guide bars being provided at their upper portions with slots or openings, of a door provided at opposite sides with hooks engaging around the guide bars and extending into the said ways, said hooks being provided with projecting lugs normally arranged in a substantially vertical position so as to slide in the guide ways and be carried through the slots or openings when the door is swung upwardly, said lugs being curved and presenting rounded con vex faces to the lower end walls of the said slots or openings.

3. The combination with a car having a door opening, of guide bars located at opposite sides of the door opening, said guide bars being provided with upper seats and having slots located below the same, a door composed of upper and lower separable sections, upper and lower pintle rods extending entirely across the door opening and having terminal means for slidably engaging the guide bars, eyes carried by the upper section of the door and receiving the upper pintle rod which is movable upwardly along the guide bars to the said seats, the other pintle rod being provided with rigid means for engaging the slots of the guide bars, and means for rigidly connecting the lower door section with the lower pintle rod, whereby the lower door section is adapted, in swinging, to carry the rigid projecting means into and out of the said slots.

4. The combination with a car having a door opening, of guide bars located at opposite sides of the door opening, said guide bars being provided with upper seats and having slots located below the same, a door composed of upper and lower separable sections, pintle rods extending entirely across the door opening and having terminal hooks engaging around the guide bars, eyes carried by the upper section of the door and receiving one of the pintle rods, the hooks of such pintle rods being adapted to engage with the seats of the guide bars, and means for rigidly connecting the lower door section with the other pintle rod, the hooks of the latter being provided with means arranged to be carried by the swinging movement of the lower door section into and out of the slots of the guide bars.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

ORIN J. MILLER.

Witnesses:

BENJ. BROCKHU'RST, O. D. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

